Oside billboard plan approved by Coastal Commission

OCEANSIDE  The California Coastal Commission agreed Thursday that Oceanside can erect four digital billboards in the city — as long as they’re not in the area’s coastal zone.

Under a plan approved by the Oceanside City Council last year, four signs could be built on city-owned property along major highways. The plan identified 30 potential sites where the signs could go.

The commission reviewed the rules because three of those sites were in the city’s coastal zone, an area where the state commission has authority over building plans.

Commissioners on Thursday approved Oceanside’s plan, under the condition that no billboards should be erected on the coastal zone — a narrow area along the coast that includes much of the downtown, the harbor and the Buena Vista Lagoon.

Councilwoman Esther Sanchez, who attended the meeting on behalf of the city, said the city agreed to the condition.

“Absolutely, billboards do not belong in the coastal zone,” Sanchez said.

Other city officials said recently that any billboards would likely be outside the coastal zone, near State Routes 78 and/or 76.